Chapter Summaries

Huang Xiao examined the natural Spirit-Gathering Divine Formation in Zhou Kemo and Sun Lanbing's valley and found that its center matched a second-tier formation. The chapter leaves Zhou Kemo wondering whether the valley's effects might even reach the third layer tier.

• Huang Xiao told Zhou Kemo and Sun Lanbing that he had just arrived and had no designs on their cultivation site, so they took him to the valley.
• Huang Xiao sensed spiritual energy gathering as he approached the valley and judged its outer area equivalent to the first layer level of a Spirit-Gathering Divine Formation.
• Huang Xiao explained the formation's levels to Zhou Kemo and Sun Lanbing, then trusted them and proceeded toward the valley's center.
• Huang Xiao confirmed that the spiritual energy at the center matched a second-tier Spirit-Gathering Divine Formation.
• Zhou Kemo wondered whether Huang Xiao meant that the valley's center reached the third layer tier when Huang Xiao said its effects were more than that.

Huang Xiao learned from Zhou Kemo and Sun Lanbing how they found their unusually powerful cultivation valley in the Frozen Snowfield. Sun Lanbing revealed that places where Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth seemed impossibly dense could be extraordinary, leaving Huang Xiao wondering whether a hidden treasure like the one at Wild Ox Peak lay nearby.

• Huang Xiao told Zhou Kemo and Sun Lanbing that their valley’s formation surpassed the second tier but remained below the third layer tier, and he explained that he could not stay there.
• Zhou Kemo offered to share a secret about the Frozen Snowfield as thanks for Huang Xiao killing the three old men.
• Zhou Kemo explained that he and Sun Lanbing had spent years studying the changing Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth to find a dense, stable cultivation site.
• Sun Lanbing said that places in the Frozen Snowfield that seemed impossible, especially those with extremely dense Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth, could be extraordinary.
• Huang Xiao connected her explanation to the treasure at Wild Ox Peak and searched the valley for a similar hidden treasure.

Huang Xiao learned from Sun Lanbing and Zhou Kemo how their valley gathered Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth from nearby stable, energy-rich sites. The group settled into an ice-built resting place, where Huang Xiao asked about their knowledge of the Frozen Snowfield.

• Huang Xiao asked Sun Lanbing why the valley had such dense Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth, and Sun Lanbing explained that it drew energy from the surrounding area.
• Sun Lanbing described why the valley had remained undiscovered, including its limited periods of energy gathering and the nearby unstable energy-rich sites.
• Huang Xiao learned that dozens of stable, dense-energy locations clustered around the valley made it an exceptionally rare cultivation site.
• Huang Xiao concluded that the valley's energy gathering arose naturally as Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth flowed from dense areas into the valley.
• Zhou Kemo led Huang Xiao to their ice-built resting place, where Sun Lanbing served him hot water.
• Huang Xiao thanked them for the hot water and asked what they knew about the Frozen Snowfield.

Huang Xiao sought information about the Zhu Family and learned that Wine-Crazy might be connected to them. He and Zhou Kemo and Sun Lanbing reached Wine-Crazy’s ice house, where a voice turned visitors away.

• Zhou Kemo and Sun Lanbing said they had never heard of the Zhu Family, but Sun Lanbing recalled that Wine-Crazy might be surnamed Zhu and called Old Ghost Zhu.
• Huang Xiao decided to meet Wine-Crazy, and Zhou Kemo agreed to bring him good wine as a gift.
• Sun Lanbing worried Huang Xiao might harm Wine-Crazy, but Huang Xiao said he only wanted the Zhu Family’s help.
• Zhou Kemo, Sun Lanbing, and Huang Xiao headed to Wine-Crazy’s ice house, where they met Old Yang, who praised Wine-Crazy’s forging and showed off his new saber.
• When the group reached the ice house, someone inside said there were no visitors for the time being.

Huang Xiao sought Wine-Crazy’s help in reaching the Zhu Family and learning how to restore the Minghong Saber Soul. Wine-Crazy revealed that he had been expelled from the Zhu Family and warned Huang Xiao that neither he nor the family was likely to help.

• Zhou Kemo, Sun Lanbing, and Huang Xiao lured Wine-Crazy out with fine wine and asked him about the Zhu Family.
• Wine-Crazy confirmed that he had been expelled from the Zhu Family and asked why they had come to him.
• Huang Xiao explained that he wanted guidance on forging and asked where the Zhu Family was, but Wine-Crazy said outsiders needed a recommendation to be received.
• Huang Xiao showed Wine-Crazy the Minghong Saber and said he wanted to awaken its saber soul.
• After examining the saber, Wine-Crazy said its soul was near dissipation and reviving it would cost more than obtaining other fine sabers.
• Wine-Crazy warned Huang Xiao that even the Zhu Family most likely would not help him.

Huang Xiao learned from Wine-Crazy that ordinary Different Flames were too weak to reliably revive the Minghong Saber Soul, and that the powerful Origin Flames had been used to forge Supreme Treasures. Wine-Crazy said the Origin Flames were gone, but suggested that collecting large quantities of their weaker successors might still awaken the Saber Soul.

• Huang Xiao asked Wine-Crazy what it would take to revive the saber's Saber Soul, and Wine-Crazy explained that even the God-Slaying Flame and Zhurong's Fire were not powerful enough.
• Wine-Crazy said the present Different Flames had evolved from stronger Origin Flames, which had been used to forge the Seven Great Treasures and other Supreme Treasures.
• Wine-Crazy explained that Longevity Daoist had taken the remnants of the Origin Flames and used them to temper nine remarkable keys, including one Iron Key and eight Bronze Keys.
• Huang Xiao realized the Origin Flames were gone, but Wine-Crazy suggested that gathering enough ordinary Different Flames might still awaken the Saber Soul.
• Zhou Kemo said they would find a way to collect the Different Flames.

Huang Xiao learned that reviving the Minghong Saber Soul might require supreme treasures forged with origin flame and a way to strengthen the flame within them. Wine-Crazy identified the Zhu Family as the foremost family in forging and repairing saber souls, and Huang Xiao reacted strangely when he learned Wine-Crazy was called Zhu Fenglin.

• Wine-Crazy explained that gathering enough different flames was difficult and suggested using supreme treasures forged with origin flame to awaken Huang Xiao's saber soul.
• Huang Xiao realized he possessed the supreme treasures and could use his heart fire to strengthen their traces of origin flame, though the process would be slow.
• Wine-Crazy said the Zhu Family had studied the obscure art of repairing saber souls for generations and could likely provide the needed method.
• Wine-Crazy revealed that he had been expelled from the Zhu Family and was no longer acknowledged by them.
• Huang Xiao asked Wine-Crazy if his name was Zhu Fenglin.

Zhu Fenglin reacted intensely when Huang Xiao mentioned Zhu Fengmu, then learned that Fengmu had died decades earlier. Huang Xiao revealed that he possessed Fengmu’s Iron Key, and Zhu Fenglin explained that it was the key to the Zhu Family’s sacred ground.

• Zhu Fenglin grabbed Huang Xiao and demanded to know where Zhu Fengmu was after hearing his name.
• Huang Xiao told Zhu Fenglin that Zhu Fengmu had been dead for decades and explained what he knew about Fengmu’s connection to Mu Fucheng.
• Zhu Fenglin asked whether Fengmu had left anything behind, and Huang Xiao revealed that he had the Iron Key and had also seen a map.
• Zhu Fenglin told Huang Xiao that the Iron Key was fake but had been passed down with a map the Zhu Family had failed to decipher.
• Zhu Fenglin revealed that the Iron Key opened the Zhu Family’s sacred ground and bore a formation laid down by Senior Longevity Daoist.

Huang Xiao learned how Zhu Fengmu stole the Zhu Family’s sacred-grounds key and why Zhu Fenglin’s branch had been expelled. Zhu Fenglin confirmed the key was genuine and, with Huang Xiao’s permission, received it, leaving them to plan a return to the Zhu Family.

• Zhu Fenglin told Huang Xiao that Zhu Fengmu stole the key to gain access to forging manuals for a contest, then fled after being discovered, causing his relatives to be expelled from the Zhu Family.
• Zhu Fenglin offered Huang Xiao a great favor and the Zhu Family’s help reviving the Minghong Saber Soul if Huang Xiao returned the key.
• Huang Xiao agreed to return the key but kept the map, saying he could draw Zhu Fenglin a copy.
• Huang Xiao handed Zhu Fenglin the iron key, and Zhu Fenglin confirmed it opened the Zhu Family’s sacred grounds.
• Huang Xiao asked when they could go to the Zhu Family.

Huang Xiao and Zhu Fenglin set out for the Zhu Family in the Extreme Cold Mountains, hoping the clan could restore Huang Xiao’s Saber Soul. Near the mountains, Huang Xiao hid his treasures in the snow before a Zhu Family guard blocked their way.

• Huang Xiao and Zhu Fenglin agreed to leave immediately for the Zhu Family, while keeping the Iron Key’s secret from Zhou Kemo and Sun Lanbing.
• Zhu Fenglin told Huang Xiao that the Zhu Family lived in the Extreme Cold Mountains and relied on a formation set up by Senior Longevity Daoist to stabilize the violent spiritual energy.
• After ten days of travel, Huang Xiao and Zhu Fenglin reached the vicinity of the mountains, and Zhu Fenglin warned Huang Xiao to show restraint around the guard disciples.
• Huang Xiao secretly hid a box containing a map, the Bronze Key, and the Supreme Ghost Stele beneath a mound of snow.
• After they traveled another twenty-odd li, a white-robed Zhu Family guard appeared and ordered Huang Xiao and Zhu Fenglin to stop.

Zhu Fenglin returned to the Zhu Family with the Iron Key and was promised readmission, while Huang Xiao asked the Grand Elder for help reviving a Saber Soul. The Grand Elder’s hostility toward people from the Demon Domain left Huang Xiao standing his ground.

• Zhu Fenglin told a Zhu Family disciple he had a lead on the Sacred Land’s key and wanted to rejoin the family.
• The Grand Elder arrived, took the Iron Key from Zhu Fenglin, and confirmed it was genuine.
• The Grand Elder said Zhu Fenglin could return to the Zhu Family because he had recovered the key.
• Zhu Fenglin explained that Huang Xiao had found the key and sought help reviving a Saber Soul.
• The Grand Elder insulted Huang Xiao for being from the Demon Domain and ordered him to leave, but Huang Xiao respectfully pressed his request.

After the Zhu Family’s Grand Elder refused to help Huang Xiao enter the sacred land, Huang Xiao left and searched the Extreme Cold Mountains for the place marked on his map. After a month of fruitless wandering, he realized the Bronze Key and map might resonate with the location and began using them to guide his search.

• The Grand Elder threatened to kill Huang Xiao, but spared him after seeing his Wood Demon Sect Identity Token.
• Huang Xiao declined Zhu Fenglin’s offer to speak for him, told him he belonged to the Wild Ox Sect, and left the Zhu Family.
• Huang Xiao retrieved his hidden treasures and decided to pursue the map’s location in the Extreme Cold Mountains while preparing to strengthen his origin flame.
• Huang Xiao searched the mountains for a month, enduring the intense cold and turbulent Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth without finding the marked place.
• Huang Xiao realized the location might resonate with the Bronze Key and map, and took them out to use as a guide.

Huang Xiao searched the Extreme Cold Mountains for the location marked on the Map but found no clues and decided to leave. He then realized the surrounding mountains formed a grand formation that had trapped him, and he began investigating the nearest peak.

• Huang Xiao spent months cultivating in the Extreme Cold Mountains while searching for the Map's marked location, but he found nothing.
• Huang Xiao decided to search for one more month before returning to the Patriarch, and he planned to leave the mountains after three more days.
• Huang Xiao lost his bearings and suspected that a formation or other influence was disorienting him.
• Huang Xiao determined that dozens of towering snow-covered mountains surrounded him and formed part of a grand formation he would need to investigate to escape.
• Huang Xiao reached the nearest great snow-covered mountain and found its Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth rivaled a Third Layer Tier Spirit-Gathering Divine Formation.

Huang Xiao investigated the snowy mountains and found their Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth remarkably uniform, but he could not break the formation and confirmed the area did not match the map. After a bout of unstable True Qi, he recalled Zhou Kemo and Sun Lanbing’s account of a cultivation site and suspected a suitable place lay near the snowy mountains’ center.

• Huang Xiao examined twenty-six large snowy mountains and fifty-four small ones, finding their Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth nearly identical.
• Huang Xiao considered that Senior Longevity Daoist might have arranged the formation, but his map and Bronze Key showed no response and the surrounding peaks did not match the map.
• Huang Xiao spent ten days contemplating the formation without solving it, then noticed his True Qi becoming unstable and moved five li away from the snowy mountain.
• Huang Xiao recalled what Zhou Kemo and Sun Lanbing had said about dense Spiritual Energy near their valley and suspected there was a stable cultivation site near the center of the snowy mountains.

Huang Xiao waited in the snowy mountains for a natural Spirit-Gathering Divine Formation to appear, then watched it shift nearly ten li from its original position. As a towering phantom emerged at its center, he was left facing a new and mysterious development.

• Huang Xiao searched the snowy mountain range for a suitable place to study the formation and chose to wait at its center for the spiritual energy to gather.
• After waiting three months, Huang Xiao sensed spiritual energy surging into the area and found the natural Spirit-Gathering Divine Formation stronger than the fourth layer level.
• Huang Xiao moved five or six li from the center because the spiritual energy there was too intense for him to withstand.
• The formation shifted away from Huang Xiao over three shichen, moving nearly ten li from its original position.
• An enormous phantom appeared at the formation’s center, towering straight into the sky.

Huang Xiao discovered that a newly revealed snow mountain was likely the formation eye, then cautiously climbed to its summit and approached a lake that concentrated immense Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth. As he took the final step toward the water, his consciousness faltered and the Bronze Key and Map began resonating.

• Huang Xiao realized that the newly appeared snow mountain brought the count to twenty-seven large peaks and fifty-four small ones, adding up to the Nine Keys’ eighty-one.
• Huang Xiao identified the snow mountain as the likely formation eye and climbed it, finding that its Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth grew denser before leveling off at the Fourth Layer Level.
• Huang Xiao spotted a lake on the summit where Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth condensed into visible mist and gathered with terrifying force.
• Huang Xiao spent hours cautiously approaching the lake, believing it might be the formation eye within the mountain’s formation eye.
• Huang Xiao took the final step toward the water, then grew dizzy as the snow mountains seemed to spin and the Bronze Key and Map resonated.

Huang Xiao discovered that the snowy mountains had returned to their true positions and found a person beneath the lake, where the treasures’ resonance was strongest. When he touched the water, it froze him solid, forcing him to shelter his divine sense inside the Supreme Ghost Stele as he searched for a way to escape.

• Huang Xiao realized the mountains’ true arrangement matched the map and that the formation blocking the treasures’ resonance had been broken.
• Huang Xiao spotted a person beneath the lake and decided to investigate because the treasures’ resonance came from the water.
• Huang Xiao touched the lake and was instantly encased in ice as the extreme cold began freezing his true qi.
• Huang Xiao used his remaining true qi to open the box and transferred most of his divine sense into the Supreme Ghost Stele.
• Huang Xiao’s attempt to send divine sense back to his body failed, and he considered whether fire from the Supreme Ghost Stele could help him break free.

Huang Xiao discovered that Hell Origin Flame could protect him from the lake’s chill and found a way to strengthen it faster than it was consumed, giving him a chance to survive. A year and a half later, Huo Lian still had no news of him and decided to ask the Wood Demon Sect to investigate.

• Huang Xiao guided a tiny wisp of Hell Origin Flame into his body and used it to shield his Divine Sense from the chill.
• Huang Xiao kindled his heart fire and used it to strengthen Hell Origin Flame, discovering that the amount gained exceeded what he used.
• Huang Xiao realized he would need to keep exhausting the lake’s chill and hoped his frozen body would give him enough time.
• Huo Lian, after waiting a year and a half for Huang Xiao, judged that his chances of survival were slim and grew wary of Mu Fucheng, Ke Zhenyi, and Liu Wangtai.
• Huo Lian decided to ask Ren Dongju and the Wood Demon Sect to investigate what had happened to Huang Xiao.

Huo Lian learned that Huang Xiao had vanished in the Extreme Cold Mountains and was ordered by Ren Dongju to stay at the Wood Demon Sect and develop his strength. Meanwhile, Pei Lingsha emerged from seclusion and reunited with Xiao Yan and the others, who had been waiting for more than two years since their companions left.

• A Wood Demon Sect disciple told Huo Lian that investigators had found no trace of Huang Xiao after he disappeared near the Extreme Cold Mountains.
• Huo Lian arranged for Mu Fucheng and Liu Wangtai to help protect the Wild Ox Sect while he was away.
• Ren Dongju told Huo Lian that he was now Kui Yong's only remaining successor and ordered him to stay at the Wood Demon Sect, where he could use the sect's resources.
• Huo Lian accepted the chance to cultivate and resolved to investigate Huang Xiao's fate and avenge him if the Zhu Family was responsible.
• Pei Lingsha emerged from seclusion on the island, where Zhangsun Youyue and Xiao Yan told her that more than two years had passed since the others left.

During a lunar eclipse, a small island with a stone house rose from the sea, and Pei Lingsha and Zhao Yunhui went to investigate it after daylight. They discovered the island had been concealed by a formation that had likely collapsed because it was already near its limit.

• Zhao Yunhui divined that the bright moon heralded the Heavenly Dog Swallows the Moon, and the women watched the eclipse darken the sky.
• As the eclipse ended, the women spotted a small island rising from the sea with a stone house on it.
• Pei Lingsha and Zhao Yunhui advised waiting until daylight before investigating the island.
• After sunrise, Pei Lingsha and Zhao Yunhui crossed to the island while the others stayed behind.
• Zhao Yunhui sensed that the island had been hidden by a formation, which likely failed after the eclipse intensified the fluctuations in spiritual energy.